Pruning for Your Better

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a person remains in Me and I in them, they will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." ~John 5:1-5 

REST

Rest...rest...stop...rest...peace...rest...refreshing...rest...

Recently I have been impressed upon to rest. Rest. Ironically, I wasn't really sure how to do that or what exactly it meant in this particular season. So, I looked up the word "rest"... 

The word "rest" can have many meanings, but I have been led here:

In English, Rest: 
                   A bodily state characterized by minimal functional and metabolic activities, 
                   freedom from activity or labor, 
                   a state of motionlessness or inactivity, 
                   peace of mind or spirit

In Greek, Anapausis: 
                              An intermission,
                              cessation of any motion,
                              business or labour;
                              rest, relaxation

The Greek form of rest - anapausis - is used in the following scripture:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.~Matthew 11:29

In our humanity, God designed us to require rest.

Rest is a form of "inactivity" that affects all other aspects of our existence. If we work too long or hard at anything, we become fatigued, worn out physically and/or mentally. And If our mental state is worn, our ability to connect with God can become challenging. We most often see the need for rest when we are overworked at our jobs. We take a vacation, and afterward, even though our body is seemingly rested and refreshed, our mind and spirit are not. We return to physically being able to continue as we did at work, but mentally we may be suffering turmoil, stress, depression, and spiritually...well...some overlook the spiritual all together at this point as they try to deal with all that they have going on in the physical/mental. 

Our intrinsic need to rest physically becomes a priority, a matter of survival. 

Mental recuperation generally follows the physical; for example, when fatigue or pain is gone we can think more clearly, respond more appropriately, cope more effectively, but spiritual recuperation does not necessarily happen as easily as the physical or the mental. I would suggest that the spiritual aspect of rest is like an interconnected, dynamic umbrella to the physical and mental, protecting our body and mind from full on burn out or even death. The most important of rests.  If your spirit is "right" (rested, at peace, refreshed), your mental and physical well-being tend to be on the right track also. To get "right" with your spirit means you need to do some soul searching and recognize where you are at with your relationship with God.

It is in the spiritual battles of life, (that oftentimes we are not even aware of) that manifest themselves as forms of physical and mental issues such as fatigue, brokenness, turmoil, etc., that God calls us to rest. 
Jesus calls to us, "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

Rest is essential to the well-being of our souls, the spiritual aspect of our being.

Spiritual rest is something that is connected to the mental and physical. 

When we engage in rest, we have an inner change...a refreshing. 

Rest.

Have you heard the saying, "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience" ?


“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”~Jeremiah 1:5

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.~Psalm 139:13-16 

God knew us before we were born, He knew us as individuals, He had a plan for our best life even before we were formed in the physical.
And in the physical, He knew we would need to rest, and more than that, He knew we would need to rest in the spiritual. He breathed life into us, the soul, to give life to the flesh. The spiritual and the physical are intertwined. It is the spiritual rest in Him that recharges us, that gives us strength, and Life so that our physical and mental well-being can prosper.

He knows us.

Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a  man, it passes though waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'~Luke 11:24

Luke 11:24 is not referring to human beings, but rather, what I will call fallen heavenly beings, and I include it to emphasize that rest is really a spiritual act that is not only essential but it is so significant it is sought after even by the fallen. 
Rest...It is a blessing, a gift for us from a loving God. 

Blessing.

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.~1 John 4:8

God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.~1 John 4:16b

Love.

When chaos, confusion, despair, weariness, depression, etc., rears its ugliness into our world, this God of Love, who cares about us, who knows us even before we were born, invites us into His presence, into His peace, into His rest. We unload our hurts, our baggage, whatever it is we are carrying that is burdening our existence and hand it over to God. Let Him deal with it and then let Him deal with you. It is not a passive act where you dump your load and wait for refreshing; rather, He invites us to take His yoke and learn from Him. This is where the rubber hits the pavement so to speak, and this is also where and why many choose to continue to carry their loads and walk away from Jesus' offer. (It is a standing offer however...never forget that.) 

Now, at this point, I need to rest. I would like to explore more what it means to take up His yoke, but in the meantime consider...

...Rest 

A New Thing

...

...

Stolen Moments

David encroached on a relationship, stealing moments and memories that would never be.

His far reaching effects, harmful and hurtful, only God knows the full extent.

My heart breaks for the stolen love and life lost. I know the pain.

Lost and driven away.

God, you know my heart, my sadness, my pain...Please bring Your healing rain.

After indignation and reprisal, David repented.

Regardless, it was too late. Memories and moments stolen away.

The future was changed, or the future became what was intended, only God knows.

New mercies falling.

God, you know my heart, my mind, my hope...

New mercies falling.

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.~Lamentations 3:22-23

2 Samuel 11,12

Quiet Thoughts

disillusionment

disappointment

authentic

breathe

future

walk

scholar

evangelism

lies

self assurance

impatience

calm

.

.

.

redirection

Though the world around me ebbs and flows, sometimes violently,

Though the clouds hide the sun and rain falls,

The world goes on.

Jesus - a constant.

Divine and mundane

Revelation awaiting

Personal and corporate

...waiting...

A beautiful swirl of life, living, and death

A masterpiece yet to be completed, but finished.

Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them.

~Psalm 111:2 

Life And Gratitude

Life.

I see it everyday in the mechanical sense. 

People living life. 

The good, the bad, and ...neither...people just living.

Today someone almost took me out as I turned into an intersection. The person didn't even slow down. He sped along with his arm casually out the window. He saw me. He didn't brake before, during, or even after the near miss. I can only assume he didn't care. Perhaps he figured there was lots of time, who knows? All I know is that within that second or two of avoiding a collision, I became even more grateful for God's protection and for my life.

Life.

Zoe

1. life

a. the state of one who is possessed of vitality or is animate

b. every living soul

2. life

a. of the absolute fullness of life, both essential and ethical, which belongs to God, and through him both to the hypostatic "logos" and to Christ in whom the "logos" put on human nature

b. life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, in the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ, but after the resurrection to be consummated by new accessions (among them a more perfect body), and to last for ever.

In the Greek language, three different words—bios,psuche, and zoe—are translated as “life” in English, and each has a different meaning. Here are some examples of where each is used:

1. Bios, in Luke 8:14: “…anxieties and riches and pleasure of this life.” This Greek word refers to the life of the physical body and is where we get the word biology.

2. Psuche, in Matt. 16:25: “For whoever wants to save his soul-life shall lose it.” The Greek word here refers to the psychological life of the human soul, that is, the mind, emotion, and will. It is where we get the word psychology.

3. Zoe, in John 1:4: “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” Here the Greek word refers to the uncreated, eternal life of God, the divine life uniquely possessed by God.

Life is a beautiful thing. We desire it, we search it out, but oftentimes, we avoid it. 

Life can be inconvenient, painful, frightening, and so sometimes we just exist.

In that moment of near-miss, I experienced gratitude for life. All of the things about my life in that moment that irked me became forgotten. I was just grateful.

Too often I complain about my life...I seem to hold myself to an ideal that is out of reach - whether this is good or bad...I want more life. My practical side often holds me back from doing more, and perhaps that is a good thing, but like an insatiable appetite, I want to live life more fully.

When I am reminded that God has a plan for all of us, I tend to wonder what that entails. Am I missing out on something because of my practical side? Am I avoiding life because it is too intimidating to take that step outside my comfort zone? Or is this it...my lot in life? Why am I still desiring more?!

As I grapple with my idea of what life should look like, I trust that God will continue to steer me to where that ideal life will manifest itself - moment by moment.

In the meantime, I am still mildly surprised at my response of gratitude in that near-miss moment. And despite my grumblings, I firmly hold to the belief that life is good, God is good, and I look forward to life after death with my Saviour and King...and my friend, Jesus.

For when we choose to believe Jesus is who He says He is and become Christians, our perspective on life and death changes...or it should change. 

We have new life and new hope during our life as Christians, and we have hope because we believe there is life after death. 

Life with God eternal. 

Thank you Jesus!

Wisdom

Live Well, Live Wise

 Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? 

Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. 

It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. 

Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom. 

Boasting that you are wise isn’t wisdom. 

Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom. 

It’s the furthest thing from wisdom—it’s animal cunning, devilish conniving. 

Whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats.

 Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. 

It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. 

You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.

~James 3:13-18 MSG

Encouraged in Heart and United in Love

 My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, ~Col.2:2

Who have you encouraged and shown love to today?

True Confression

When I can't sleep at night, I think of you.
When I lose all perspective, I run to you.
When I want to be accepted, I turn to you.
When I am in awe and grateful, I sing to you.
There are many distractions, many road blocks to my Heart, but You...You wait, You urge me on, You guide me, You call me forth. You Are. You surround me with songs of deliverance.
When I have no one to talk with, You are there. You hear me, You speak with me. 
I have an ache of pity for those who do not know you. If they only knew...
If they  only    knew.

Jesus: Saviour, Lord, King...My hope is in You. My faith is in You. My life is in You.

Jesus: Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.~Acts 4:12

~

Please consider getting to know The One True God, if you don't know Him already...His name is Jesus, His story is all around you, but you can read about Him in The Bible.

 check it out here or here or here

Rejoice...

Failure

It is always frustrating when you want to be a better person, but you fail.
I tend to be very hard on myself when I don't live up to my own standards. I withdraw, pull away, and internalize my failures. If left there too long, I will spiral downwards into a state of self pity - which is never good.

Climbing out of that pit of darkness is difficult. Admitting that I am in a pit is sometimes very difficult.

I would like to think that I am strong. 'I can overcome all that is thrown at me!' 
{feet solidly planted, hands on hips, shoulders thrown back, chin up, standing on top of a mountain, wind blowing back my long hair, despite raging storm all around}

...Yeah.  ...Not so true...nice image though.

I think of Christ. I think of scripture:  ...when I am weak, then I am strong...my Grace is sufficient...

I really don't feel like praying when I am stewing in my pit of darkness. Of course, the enemy of my soul, I am sure, is loving every moment of my agony in this state.

I think of the enemy of my soul.

I picture creatures of darkness attacking, mocking, terrorizing me from all sides.

But the picture becomes broader, I also see soldiers, angels of God battling some of these dark creatures.

All of a sudden, I am in a movie. A battle, intense and fierce. I am lying, seemingly defeated, on the ground with this war going on all around me...And I am the one they are battling for...one side seeking to destroy me, the other side defending me!

Then, the realization hits me...By lying in the mud of this movie, I am actually helping the enemy! 

I need to get up! Where's my sword?! Get up! Get in the battle! 

I rise up. 
Declare my battle cry. 

JESUS!
.
.
.
There is power in the name of Jesus. Power that I really don't understand. What I do understand is that there is power. I also understand that when I chose to believe Jesus is who He said He is, and asked forgiveness for my sins, when I asked Jesus to come into my heart and fill me with His Holy Spirit, I received this power. 

I think of scripture again...
 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Take every thought captive.

I am not perfect. I fail - often. I constantly need to remind myself that though I fail, God still loves me and does not write me off...and I shouldn't write myself off. Some days it is harder than others to remember who I am in Christ, but those days, my God, finds a way to draw me out, to remind me of who I am. He reminds me of how much He loves me and how His plans for me are plans to prosper me, not to harm me, to give me a hope and a future...


...Perhaps I should review my standards for myself. 

Know The Lord

by LJ. on Flickr

I will place my laws in their minds,
        and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.
11     And each person won’t ever teach a neighbor
    or their brother or sister, saying, “Know the Lord,”
        because they will all know me,
            from the least important of them to the most important;

~Hebrews 8:10b-11

biblegateway.com

Our Journey Doesn't End Here...

Yesterday, we had a moment of silence for two colleagues that died at work this past week.
Now, I see death almost daily and yet, I am still quite emotionally impacted by the passing of others, even if I do not know them well. Even if I have assurance that a person knows the Lord Jesus, my heart still swells in mourning. This is a good thing, I suppose. It speaks to our humanity and our desire to live and see life thrive. But, we can't avoid death...and yet we try...boy, do some of us try!

As Christians, we are not to fear death. We have hope beyond the grave.
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; ~John 11:25

For me, life does not end with that last breath, or that last heart beat. As someone once said, "You do not have a soul, you are a soul. You have a body." Our journey doesn't end here...

One

 

Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

~2 Cor. 13:11

Be Encouraged

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. ¹⁹ For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that^[h] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
²⁶ In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. ²⁷ And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[i] have been called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ³⁰ And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

More Than Conquerors

³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”^[j]

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. ~Romans 8:18

 

 

Scripture source - Bible Gateway